Digital payments rose 55% in 2016-17: NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog, the premier think-tank of the country, said that digital payments rose 55% in 2016-17, against a 28% growth during the five-year period ending 2016.Pratik Bhakta | ET Bureau | July 04, 2017, 09:25 IST

The retail payments segment accounted for as much as 98 per cent-99 per cent of total volumes.Dispelling fears of a slump in digital payments as cash begins to flow back into the system, NITI Aayog, the premier think-tank of the country, said that digital payments rose 55% in 2016-17, against a 28% growth during the five-year period ending 2016.

Addressing a seminar on 'Digital Payments ­ Trends, Issues and Challenges' organised by FICCI in collaboration with NITI Aayog, Rattan Watal, principal advisor to NITI Aayog, said the retail payments segment accounted for as much as 98%-99% of total volumes.

Of this, the share of paper clearing, which formed over half the total volume in 2011-12, steadily dropped to 16% in 2015 -16 and further to 11% in 2016-17 with a corresponding increase in the combined share of electronic clearing and cards.

Watal also acted as chairman of the committee set up by the finance ministry to look into the existing digital payments ecosystem and suggest possible changes to encourage wider adoption. He said the growth trends in digital payments are positive and will continue to dominate the payments landscape in India.

Highlighting the fact that various independent analysts of digital payments get confused by the manner in which data gets disseminated by RBI in its current format, Watal suggested that a classification of services under the name of service provider, payment destination, user and value would help citizens track growth better.